Nothing ventured, nothing gained

NOTHING VENTURED, NOTHING GAINED - " You can't get anywhere unless you're willing to take a risk. The saying dates back to Chaucer (c. 1374) and is similar to the late fourteenth century French proverb: Qui onques rien n'enprist riens n'achieva (He who never undertook anything never achieved anything) The proverb was included in John Heyword's collection of proverbs in 1546. First cited in the United States in 'Letters and Papers of Cadwallader Colden . It takes varying forms: Nothing ventured, nothing lost, nothing ventured, nothing won, etc. ." From the "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" by Gregory Y. Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996).